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Shoulder Labrum tear

I am going in for surgery next Friday for a labrum tear in my right shoulder (pull arm). I am curious if any fellow bowsiters have had this surgery and if so, how long was recovery, etc.?

Yes. It wasn't fun. Surgery was in February wasn't shooting bow until late July but mine was cranky. Maybe some guys did better. Lot of PT.

Both shoulders. Key is PT!

The key with the tears is to give the repairs enough time to take hold. Do you exercises, stretches and PT but hold off doing anything with it for as long as you can. Don`t rush just to rush....start with pulling the different colored bands first.

Yep a couple years ago. Pitched baseball and fast pitch softball for a long time Torn and partially detached. Had surgery in march took it very easy and didn't push it at first just a little more then the required pt. Stretched a lot with 0 weight to get good movement back in it. Waited until probably August to draw a kids bow at probably 30 lbs. Did that with 0 issue or pain so I took out my 73 lb sbxt and cranked it down to probably right around 60 lbs and drew it with no pain so I started shooting it in the garage and basement at 5 10 yards 5 or 10 times a night and turned it up a couple times a week. I was back to 73 lbs in about 3 weeks after that. Limited the amount of shooting to 5 to 10 arrows at a time. I think when your muscles get a little tired they relax a touch and let you joints and bones take up some of the slack and you reinjure yourself. I may have been able to shoot earlier but I was focused on hunting the coming deer season so had til Oct or so to make sure I was good. Do you have a hunt planned coming up or do you have until next deer season?

I had arthroscopic surgery for labrum tear 10 years ago. Much of the recovery time will be based on what they do to your labrum. As stated before, do your PT. Do all of it, be the best PT patient in the clinic!

There are a number of factors that go into how long your recovery will be. These include the magnitude and location of your tear(s). The status of your biceps tendon and your rotator cuff. Any evidence of arthritic changes in your AC joint, and the status of your joint capsule. Obviously, the more involved structures, the potential for increasing the recovery time increases. Generally speaking, you are looking at a 4-6 month recovery. The most important thing early on is doing your PT and regaining your shoulder motion. Don't get too concerned about your strength, it will come. Without good motion, your strength is irrelevant. Good luck with your surgery. Prepare for a few days/night of sleep difficulty ( a recliner will be your friend). Also, don't try to be a hero, take your meds as prescribed. Most of all, Good Luck you'll be shooting great again before you know it. :)

I’ve had it fixed 3 times over the last 7 years between two arms. Other things were torn as well in two of those cases. All repaired between now and March. Never missed a season.

I just had my right shoulder done. I had a minor tear in my Labrum and ground down some of my scapula because of an impingement. I'm 13 days out and had my 1st PT appointment 2 days ago. My arm feels great. Never was in a sling. It's a little sore to lift my elbow in the outward position. Good Luck!

I had roughly 180 degree labral tear in my non draw arm. My recovery was over a year and missed a season. It shouldn’t have taken as long as it did but my original therapy plateaued due to the person overseeing the recovery. Once I went to a sports medicine guy who really knew his stuff I went from not being able to hold a bow up to being able to shoot in one PT session. It was such a drastic change that it felt like some kind of black magic. I’d plan 6-8 months depending on the severity.

Had rotor cuff issue cleaned up and bicep muscle attached to bone 1 year ago used a good doc; couldn't work for 3 months (machine shop); but hunting this season. Use a good sports therapist as mentioned earlier and might be turning bow down in poundage or in my case buying a new one. I figured a new Triax at 50 lbs would be as fast as my old Switchback at 60 lbs and was right, the sight was almost perfect for new bow on my 20 and 30 yd pins. So long story, but this won't end your hunts just have to wait till next season good luck!

Best advice is to do 110% of what your physical therapist tells you. Nothing more and nothing less. Do 100% of the at home exercises. Without giving 110% at PT a surgery is worthless when it comes to Labrum and RC surgeries.

I had repair done on a major labral tear about 8 years ago, along with a very bad rotator cuff muscle tear. I was surprised how quickly I could start drawing a bow with that arm (my right), but holding a bow out in front of me with the injured arm without serious pain was months down the road. Being an ambidextrous shooter allowed me to continue shooting a lot sooner. Drawing a light weight longbow, with the injured arm, was do-able within about 4 weeks. The therapy routine was critical to steady recovery. For me, using a light weight traditional bow was an important part of my recovery. The abrupt let-off of a compound, even at very light draw was out of the question for several months, whether I shot lefty or righty. Overall I found recovery, the first 8 weeks or so, to be far more painful than the 8 weeks following the injury, which was due to a bad fall. Overall I have permanently reduced draw weight since the surgery with no apparent loss of ability to take game. I now shoot compounds in the low to mid 50# range, down from mid 60's. Good luck, be patient but persistent and you will be pleased with the results.

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